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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To have stolen the shop assistants reduced food?

47 replies

Caravanoflove · 12/02/2016 18:57

So I was in our local small supermarket tonight and two shop assistants were marking down food. One says to the other 'oooh look at these lovely steaks, reduced to 70p- I'll have them.'
She proceeded to hide them at the back of the bottom shelf of the chiller behind the lamb joints and commented to her colleague 'I am doing well tonight'.
When she'd gone I had a ferret and found a whole stash of lovely very reduced goodies. It was a very good hiding place you would never have found them without knowing they were there.
After much deliberation over the morality of the situation I put the steaks in my basket but left the rest.
It was a bit hairy at the till as she was called to help but luckily I got a different till assistant.
So AIBU for 'stealing' her bargains? I feel probably as she's in a low paid job it's a perk of the job. On the other hand, I am skint and will generally actively seek out the reduced produce.

OP posts:

Andylion · 12/02/2016 19:35

OP, you did nothing wrong. Her 'I am doing well tonight' comment suggests she does this frequently.

IHaveBrilloHair · 12/02/2016 19:38

I'd have bought them too, and now you know to check where the best reduced stuff is, score.

gladistopped · 12/02/2016 20:04

Enjoy the steak!

NoMoreGrimble · 12/02/2016 20:23

Enjoy the steaks, you've haven't done anything wrong!

HermioneWeasley · 12/02/2016 20:26

You have done nothing wrong, she, on the other hand, has probably committed gross misconduct under her employee handbook.

Bon appetit!

WhoTheFuckIsSimon · 12/02/2016 20:29

I do this all the time in our village shop. There's always stuff in the evening hidden behind the lettuces and I have a root through. None of the sales assistants have dared say anything to me when I go to the till and pay.

Ginkypig · 12/02/2016 20:40

At least you know where the goodies are stashed now.

I think your right you took what you wanted but still left them some stuff too, that's called compromise

IguanaTail · 12/02/2016 20:45

I'm with Ginky - now you know where they hide stuff you can help yourself to great deals more often. The delicate bit will be not taking too much or they will find somewhere else ..!

YakTriangle · 12/02/2016 20:47

If it's on the shelf, it's for sale. The shop assistant has as much right to buy things as the customers, but they don't get first dibs on everything. They shouldn't be hiding the best stuff for themselves.

Strokethefurrywall · 12/02/2016 20:53

Steaks for 70p?? I bloody wish I could get steaks for 70p - it's $10+ here

I'd go back and buy the rest of the stuff she's been hiding too!

icclemunchy · 12/02/2016 21:05

Was a sackable offence to do this when I worked at Asda. There were a few women who would remove stuff when It was being reduced at the beginning of the day and hide it in the fridges out the back, they'd then get it reduced again at the end of their shift

Eva50 · 12/02/2016 21:23

I buy most of my food reduced at the end of the day (10p quiche, 4p Potatoes and 3p broccoli between 4 of us tonight and a £4 bottle of wine The assistants in one shop claim they are always pleased to see me as "otherwise it goes in the bin". What a waste! At least you now know where it's hidden.

cranberryx · 12/02/2016 21:24

It was a disciplinary for this when I worked at the co-op. But they were generous with their food, if it was going to go off that day and still hadn't sold, staff could take it home as it would just have been thrown away otherwise.

RedSoloCup · 12/02/2016 22:28

I used to do this job and not ynbu, I used to see it was on it's date and take it out the back to mark down and put in back chiller if I really wanted it as hiding it was really against the rules!!

BananaJane · 12/02/2016 23:21

YANBU - I work in a "big four" supermarket and this would be a disciplinary offence if any of our staff got caught doing that. We're allowed to purchase reduced products but only at the end of our shifts (ie: once you've clocked out)

FinallyFreeFromItAll · 12/02/2016 23:43

A lot of shops restrict sales assistants on buying reduced goods for this reason. She was technically stealing . staff hiding things and reducing down lower for themselves is theft as the shop may have been able to sell them for more if they were visible to customers and not marked down really low and hidden.

TheCatsFlaps · 12/02/2016 23:50

If she was stupid enough to talk about it, then tough shit, YANBU.

Tokelau · 13/02/2016 00:02

When I was a student, I worked in a large supermarket on the checkouts. We had one manager who would regularly do some shopping at the end of his shift and reduce things down to much less than half. They weren't out of date, things like bottles of wine. He reduced them so much that they needed the authorisation of the store manager, so he would type in his manager's code. I don't think anything was ever done about it.

londonrach · 13/02/2016 07:32

You did nothing wrong. However she did. Sounds like shes done it before. I doubt she allowed to hid food from customers. Which supermarket. Id be worried she was reducing the item more than she should.

CPtart · 13/02/2016 07:57

I'd have taken the lot.
You snooze you lose.

JizzyStradlin · 13/02/2016 08:35

YABU to describe it as 'stolen'.

SevenOfNineTrue · 13/02/2016 08:50

You did not steal anything. The items were there for sale and you bought them. Her fault for talking loud enough so you could hear!

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